Garment protector



May 28, 1935.

s. J. GOLDSMITH GARMENT PROTECTOR Filed Nov. 26, 1954 Patented May 28, 1935 UNITED STATES GARMENT PROTECTOR Samuel J. Goldsmith, Chicago, Ill. Application November 26, 1934, Serial No. 754,701

3 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to garment protectors. More particularly the invention relates to that type of protector which is shaped and designed to fit over and cover the shoulder portion of a ladys dress or like garment on a hook-equipped clothes hanger and comprises front and back pieces of Cellophane or like transparent material which are secured together at the top and side margins thereof by a fabric strip and together form a transparent hood whereby the shoulder portion of the dress over which it is used is readily visible and is protected against dust as well as soiling or injury due to handling.

Heretofore in the manufacture of a garment protector of this type it has been customary to form the front and back Cellophane pieces of single thickness and to stitch a folded fabric binding to the bottom margins of the two pieces in order to reinforce such margins and prevent them from tearing. In practice it hasbeen found that a garment protector of the aforementioned character although it serves its purpose is deficient for several reasons. In the first place the 25 binding along the bottom margins of the front and back Cellophane pieces of the protector tends to catch dust and leave horizontal lines across the front and back of the garment over which the protector is used. Secondly, the stitching of the fabric binding to the bottom margins of the front and back pieces causes perforations in the "Cellophane which weaken the latter materially and sometimes result in tearing of the pieces when the protector is handled. Thirdly, the

35 fabric bindings at the bottom margins of the Cellophane pieces obstruct vision and in the event that the protector is used on a garment for sale or on display necessitate removal of the protector from the garmentin order that a prospec- 40 tive purchaser may obtain a complete view of the garment.

One object of the invention is to provide a garment protector of the type andc'haracter under consideration which is an improvement upon and eliminates the objectionable points or features of previously designed garment protectors for the same purpose and of the same general character by reason of the fact that the front and back pieces of Cellophane are formed of double thickness, and have folds at the bottom margins thereof for reinforcing purposes instead of fabric binding with the result that any garment to which the protector is applied is completely visible and is not likely to be soiled with dust streaks.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment protector of the aforementioned type in which the strip for connecting the front and back Cellophane pieces together at the top and side margins thereof is a continuouspne and is secured in place adjacent tothe top portion of 5 the protector in such a manner that a novel form of aperture or opening is provided for the hook of the hanger over which the protector is placed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a garment protector of the Cellophane type which 1 is generally of new and improved construction, may be manufactured at a low and reasonable cost, and is an improvement upon that shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,878,771, granted to me September 20,. 1932. 15

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages and characteristics of the present form or construction of garment protection. will be apparent from consideration of the following detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features. which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms 25 a part of this specification or disclosure and in which like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a perspective of a garment protector embodying the invention; I

Figure 2 is a top view illustrating in detail the manner in which the connecting strip between the front and back Cellophane pieces is formed and secured in place adjacent to the top portion of the protector so that an elongated, longitudinally extending, slit-like aperture is formed for the hook of the hanger over which the protector is placed; 7

Figure 3 is a vertical, transverse section of the protector showing the construction of the front and back pieces of Cellophane;

Figure 4is a perspective of the front piece of the protector;

Figure 5 is a front view showing the protector of Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 mounted in place on a' garment; and V Figure 6 is a front view of a modified form of protector.

The protector which is shown in Figures. 1 to 5 of the drawing and constitutes the preferred form of the invention is designedgto fit over and. cover the shoulder portion of a lady's dress or garment G on a hook-equipped clothes hanger H. It serves in the capacity of a shield or hood for protecting the garment G against dust as l well as soiling or injury due to handling and comprises a front piece I, a back piece 8, and a fabric connecting strip 9. The front and back pieces I and 8 are similar in shape and design and are positioned one in front of the other. They are formed of Cellophane as hereinafter pointed out in order that the protector as a whole is.

transparent, and together form a hood for the shoulder portion of the garment.

The front piece I is formedof a single sheet of Cellophane and has an arched or curved top margin, substantially straight'vertical side margins, and a straight, horizontally extending, bottom margin. The sheet of Cellophane from which the front piece I is formed is doubled over so that the front piece is of double thickness and the fold forms the bottom margin of the front piece. By forming the front piece in this manner the bottom margin is sufiiciently reinforced so that it does not need a fabric binding. Because of 'this, when the protector is in place on the garment G, as shown in Figure 5, the ,entire front of the shoulder portion of the dress is visible. In addition there are no sharp edges along the bottom margin of the front piece I of the protector and there is no likelihood of dust collecting so as to cause a streak across the front of the garment. The top and side margins of the front piece I of the protector are reinforced by means of a folded fabric binding I9. This binding is secured in place by stitching H, and secures together the edges of the sheet of Cellophane from which the front piece of the protector ,is made. It is formed of a single strip of fabric as shown in the drawing, and serves as hereinafter described to anchor-or secure in place one of the side margins of the fabric connecting strip 9.

The back piece 8 of the protector is similar in shape and design to the front piece, as previously pointed out. It is formed of a single sheet of Cellophane and serves to protect the back of the shoulder portion of the garment G. The top and side margins of the back member are shaped similarly or conformably to the top and side margins of the front piece I of the protector, and the bottom margin of the back piece .is straight and extends horizontally in the same manner as the bottom margin of the front piece I. The piece of Cellophane from which the back'piece 8 is formed is doubled over so that the piece is of double thickness. The fold of the sheet of Cellophane forms the bottom margin of the back piece with the result that this margin is suitably reinforcedand like the bottom margin of the front piece I of the protector-needs no binding. Because of this fact the bottom margin of the back piece of the protector does not obscure a complete view of the back of the shoulder portion of the garment G and is not likely to leave a dust line across the back of the garment. The top and side margins of the back piece 8 are reinforced by a folded fabric binding I2. This binding is secured in place by stitching I3 and extends around the edges of the sheet of Cellophane from which the back piece of the protector is formed. As shown in Figure 1, the binding I2 is formed of a single strip of fabric and serves as ananchor for the rear side margin of the connecting strip 9.

,The connecting strip 9 extends between the top and side margins of the front and back pieces I and 8 of the protector and serves as a flexible spacer. whereby the front and back pieces may be separated to a limited extent in order proper- 1y to fit about the shoulder of the garment G. As shown in the drawing, the strip is formed of a single length of fabric and is centrally folded so that the front and back pieces of the protector may be shifted together in order to contract the protector when the latter is not in use. The rear side margin of the strip 9 fits between the inner side portion of the binding I2 and the inner face of the top and side margins of the back piece 8 and is secured in place by means of the stitching I3. The front side margin of the connecting strip 9 with the exception of the central portion, extends between the inner side of the folded fabric binding I8 and the inner face of the top and side margins of the front piece I of the protector and is anchored or secured in place by the stitching II. The central portion ofthe front side margin of the connecting strip 9 has an arcuate cut-out I4, and a folded fabric binding I5. The cut-out as shown in the drawing forms adjacent to or along the central portion of the binding II an elongated, longitudinally extending, slit-like aperture or opening I6, for the hook of the hanger H. The binding l5 serves as a reinforcement for the edge of the connecting strip 9 resulting from the cut-out I4 and together with the central portion of the binding II defines the aperture I 6. By forming the aperture I6 in this manner and having the connecting strip 9 extend across the top portion of the protector, the possibility of dust working into the space between the front and back pieces I and 8 by way of the aperture I6 is reduced to a minimum and the shoulder portion of the garment G is adequately and properly protected.

In applying the protector to the garment G the front and back pieces I and 8 are first spread apart as far as permitted by the connecting strip 8. Thereafter the protector is slipped over the shoulder portion of the garment and the hook 1 of the hanger H is inserted through the aperture I6 as shown in Figure '5. When the protector is in this position the shoulder portion of the garment is completely encased or covered by the front and back pieces I and 8 and is protected against dust or soiling. By virtue of the fact that the front and back pieces are formed of Cellophane and the bottom margins thereof have no binding the garment is completely visible and it is not-necessary to remove the protector in order completely to view or'inspect the garment. Because the connecting strip 9 is a continuous one and extends over the top portion of the protector, little if any dust is likely to enter the space between the front and back pieces of the protector by way of the hook-receiving aperture I6 as hereinbefore pointed out.

The garment protector of Figure 6 is the same in design and character as the garment protector of Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 except that the front and back pieces of Cellophane are extended so as to cover the front and back of the waist and skirt portions of the garment. The front and back pieces of the protector of Figure 6, which in effect is a full length garment protector, are formed of double thickness by centrally folded sheets: of Cellophane and have foldformed unbound bottom margins of the same type and character as the bottom margins of the front and back pieces I and 8.

The herein described form of Cellophane" type garment protector may be manufactured at a low and reasonable cost durable.

and is exceptionally The invention is not to be understood as re- J stricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a garment protector of the hood type comprising similarly shaped front and back pieces positioned one in front of the other and having arched top margins and substantially straight side margins, one of said pieces being formed of a centrally folded sheet or" transparent Cellophane type material and having the fold unbound and arranged to form a straight bottom margin therefor and having the edges of the opposed pieces resulting from folding coincide one with the other so that it is of double thickness throughout, and a connecting strip between and connected to the top and side margins of the two pieces and having means associated therewith forming an aperture at the top of the protector for the hook of a clothes hanger.

v 2. As a new article of manufacture, a garment protector of the hood type comprising similarly shaped front and back pieces positioned one in front of the other and having arched and aligned type material and having the fold unbound and arranged to form a straight bottom margin therefor and having the edges of the opposed parts resulting from folding coincident with one another so that it is of double thickness throughout, an accordion type connecting strip of fabric extending between the top and side margins of the two pieces and having one of the side margins thereof stitched to the coinciding edges of the opposed parts of the front piece and its other side margin stitched to the coinciding edges of the opposed parts of the back piece, and means associated with the strip forming an aperture at the topof the protector for the hook of a clothes hanger.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a garment protector of the hood type comprising similarly shaped front and back pieces positioned one in front of the other and having arched top margins and substantially straight side margins, and a one piece, accordion type, connecting strip of fabric extending between and stitched to the top and side margins of the two pieces and having in the central portion 'of the front side margin thereof a shallow arcuate cut-out and a binding around the cut-out formed edge thereof to form a longitudinally extending slit-like aperture immediately adjacent the top portion of the front piece for receiving the hook of a clothes hanger.

SAMUEL GOLDSMITH. 

